miss the bus

Meaning

Literally, this means to arrive too late to catch a bus. Figuratively, it can also mean to lose an opportunity by being too slow to act. In travel contexts, it is almost always used literally to describe a common transport mishap.

Examples

• We had to run to the station because we didn't want to miss the bus.

  We had to run to the station because we didn't want to miss the bus.

• If you miss the bus, you'll have to wait another hour for the next one.

  If you miss the bus, you'll have to wait another hour for the next one.

• I overslept this morning and managed to miss the bus by just two minutes.

  I overslept this morning and managed to miss the bus by just two minutes.

• Don't worry if you miss the bus; we can always take a taxi instead.

  Don't worry if you miss the bus; we can always take a taxi instead.

• She was so busy looking at her phone that she didn't see it arrive and missed the bus.

  She was so busy looking at her phone that she didn't see it arrive and missed the bus.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ I lost the bus because I woke up late.

  ✓ I missed the bus because I woke up late.

  In English, you 'lose' physical objects like keys, but you 'miss' scheduled transport like buses, trains, or flights.

• ✗ Hurry up or we will lose our bus.

  ✓ Hurry up or we will miss our bus.

  'Lose' implies you owned the bus and cannot find it. Use 'miss' to mean failing to catch it.

Related Expressions

Practice

• If we don't leave now, we are going to ___.

  💡 Arrive too late for our road transport.

  Show answer

  miss the bus

• I had to walk all the way to the hotel because I ___.

  💡 Failed to catch the public transit vehicle (past tense).

  Show answer

  missed the bus